Loved (House of Night Other World #1)(22)

Stevie Rae was crying silently. She placed one hand on Damien’s shoulder.

Shaunee looked like she was going to be sick, but she, too, rested her hand on Damien.

Shaylin’s hand shook, but she placed it beside fire and earth, firmly on air’s shoulder.

There was a long silence when Aphrodite concluded after adding, “Zoey wanted to know if my vision was metaphoric, like some of my dream visions have been. My answer is the same then as it is now—it didn’t feel symbolic at all. It felt real—like when I dreamed of Z getting her head chopped off. That real. The only thing dreamlike in the vision was the appearance of Jack. I honestly don’t know what to make of that.”

“Damien,” I spoke gently, glad my voice didn’t sound as trembly as I felt. “If you need to step out—wash your face—take some time for yourself, we completely understand.”

“No,” he started to speak and his voice broke. He paused to clear his throat, and began again. “No. I need to be here. I need to help you figure out what this is about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.” Damien wiped his eyes with a tissue from a box of Kleenex Stark slid across the table for him. When he spoke again, there was no weepy emotion clinging to his voice. Damien was all business.

“As much as I want it to be true, I know what you all know. Jack can’t be alive,” he said. “Let’s consider this thing logically. Aphrodite, you said your vision felt literal, though at least part of it must be metaphoric because of that one important fact—Jack can’t be alive,” he repeated.

“Yes. It’s confusing—even for one of my visions, which are always confusing to some extent.”

“I have a hypothesis,” Damien said. “What if the vision was both—figurative and literal?”

“Can you explain?” I asked.

“I’ll try. From Kalona’s warning and the strange roses, it appears as if Neferet must be stirring. Or, at the very least, she’s found a way to influence the mortal world from within her prison. What if the vision was meant to be taken as both—a literal warning that Neferet is exerting her influence on the world, much as she exerted her influence on dead fledglings, turning them into the red fledglings that were once devoid of goodness—hence the red fledglings emerging from a fountain of blood situated near her prison. And figurative—by including the resurrection of Jack in a vision, Nyx could be alluding to our loved ones being in danger from Neferet’s awakening influence.”

“It feels logical,” Lenobia said. “Disturbing, but logical.”

“Though I still wonder about Father’s part in this. I’ll be interested to ask him why he chose to appear to Zoey in a place so riddled with negative memories,” Rephaim added.

“And that’s a good next step,” I said. “Rephaim, how long does it usually take Kalona to answer your, um, prayers?”

“Not long,” he said.

“He’s really turned into a good daddy,” Stevie Rae said. “I mean except for the part about him being dead and all.”

“Okay, while Rephaim sends up his prayer request, I strongly believe we need to take action,” Damien said.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“I think we should proceed as if Neferet has discovered some way to exert her influence, even from her prison. And when someone’s worried about a prison break, what is the logical step for the wardens to do?” he asked.

“If I was a warden, I’d dang sure hire more guards,” Stevie Rae said.

“Exactly,” Damien said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“You need to do what a warden would do, Z,” Damien continued. “Be sure Neferet’s prison guard is increased.”

“Aurox sacrificed his immortality to trap Neferet. Unless you know an immortal who doesn’t mind joining Aurox, I have no clue what to do,” I said.

“Wait, don’t think so literally,” Shaunee said. “We don’t need another immortal. Neferet hasn’t escaped. We don’t need to retrap her. We just need to boost what’s already holding her.”

“Like a protection spell!” I said, feeling a flutter of hope. “I can do that—we can do that.”

“Hells to the yes!” Shaunee said.

“And once the additional protection is set, if the black roses go away, along with Aphrodite’s vision and Kalona’s dream visits—then we’ll know that’s the answer,” I said.

“Partially,” Lenobia spoke over the relieved sounds my friends were making.

“Partially?” I asked her.

“If the problem is that Neferet has found a way to exert influence over the mortal world, then a protection spell is just the first part of the solution to the problem, unless you cast a very special protection spell—perhaps one that is linked specifically to you, Zoey.”

“Why would Zoey want to do that?” Stark asked the question that was buzzing through my mind.

“I don’t think it’s so much something that Zoey wants to do, but rather something she needs to do,” Lenobia explained. “If the spell is linked to Zoey, then if it begins to be breached, our High Priestess will know.”

“Hopefully, that means I’ll also know how to fix the breach.” Under the table I started to pick nervously at my fingernails.